The psychology of bureaucracy

The Psychology of Bureaucracy is a work of theoretical research, which has attempted to develop a new, and somewhat improved, approach to understanding bureaucracy. The main emphasis has been on gaining a greater understanding of bureaucracy by examining the individual within it--the "psychology of bureaucracy," as it were. What are the forces that determine or influence the behavior of the individual in bureaucracy, and what are the implications of these forces--both in terms of the kinds of behavior that we can anticipate from bureaucracies, and in terms of what can be done to improve the way in which bureaucracies function.

The research for this dissertation was conducted inductively, beginning with a period of "immersion" in courses, reading, thinking and conversation, from a variety of different disciplines and perspectives. The working assumption of this dissertation, in its early stages, was that it would be possible to discern, or "piece together," a new and empirical pattern for understanding bureaucracy, by combining the work and the thought of the author, with the thinking and the research of others; once that basic pattern had been "made out," the resulting theoretical model could be strengthened, and clarified and expanded. This work has done that: its steps, or accomplishments, along that route, are as follows:

iv

(1) It has examined classic bureaucratic theory, derived the assumptions which underlie the classic bureaucratic model, and examined them for their validity. (They were found, not surprisingly, to be deficient.) (2) It has examined the reasons, not only for the survival, but for the remarkable growth, of bureaucracy (including its oftenoverlooked benefits and advantages).

(3) It has derived a new, and more valid, set of assumptions about the (actual) behavior of people in organizations, examinedthem for their practical applications, and contrasted them with the classic bureaucratic assumptions.

(4) It has categorized all of those forces which influence the behavior of the individual (in bureaucracy) into three classifications, organized as the NAME model. The classifications include:

(a) NA (i.e., "Natural Abilities");

(b) M (i.e., "Motivation"); and (c) E (i.e., "Environment").

(5) It broke each classification down into its component parts, or considerations, and examined each part for additional clues for understanding, and "improving," bureaucracy and the performance of people within it.

The (NAME) model developed by this dissertation, and the analysis of its classifications, and their component parts, should provide public administrators, corporate managers, supervisors, organizational psychologists, bureaucrats, politicians, management consultants and ordinary citizens with a deeper and clearer understanding of bureaucracy:

should--be changed. what it is, how it works, what it offers, and how it can--and probably